Shadowkin
Drakkir (harofey) The shadowkin, who call themselves the Drakkir, live mainly within the territory of the Serathic peninsula. Their isolation is solidified by the roaring wasteland of bone and dust that makes up the majority of the peninsula, surrounded by tall mountainous cliffs and crags. The only passage into the wastes has been carved and structured by the Drakkir to look like the mouth of a giant leviathan, and is called the Maw. Beyond the Maw lays the Silver Plains, a steppe of mild greenery but mostly soil and sand. No other fey or human civilization reside on the peninsula, making it truly the isolated home of the Drakkir. The shadowkin have adapted to their cold, dry environment over many greater cycles of evolution. When their ancestors fled to the wastes, they lost much of the skin pigmentation given by the sun, turning their features gray and colorless. The constant blanket of dust clouds make it nearly impossible for the Drakkir of Serath to grow crops, or receive much rainfall of any kind. This is why they have built their city around the only pool of water in the whole wasteland, which they call the Oasis. This oasis supplies the whole city with fresh drinking water, as well as creates a habitat for certain water-dwelling critters. But lack of soil nutrients makes it difficult to grow anything, regardless of abundant water sources. Their ancestors having dedicated their lives to the worship of the Cyclican god of Death, whom the Drakkir call Aesis, his ideology has permeated every aspect of their culture. Aesis, the bringer of death and equality, is the major god of Drakkiri religion, with several others in the pantheon. With Death as the central focus, everything centers around equality, including their use of magic. Death magic centers around sacrificial sources in order to gain a beneficial result, and so this is the way of the Drakkir. Blood must be spilled in order to spill blood, and one must take life in order to give it. The most notable aspect of the shadowkin, however, is that due to an ancient magic, curse, or perhaps genetic mutation, they are all biologically female. No matter what type of person a shadowkin mates with, her child will always be a girl, as has been the way for many greater cycles. Because of this, and their isolation from the rest of Eldera, gender roles are quite nonexistent (or at least, they would like to believe). Castes A civilization of “equality,” the Drakkir have recently fallen into a period of imbalance, although many refuse to see it as such. Several cycles ago, they developed a caste system to determine who gets which role to support the Commune, believing it to reinforce equality. This system relies solely on a facial feature they refer to as zrya, which resemble very small horns (think Darth Maul) of an almost precious-gem quality. They can appear anywhere on a shadowkin’s face, the fewer of which indicate one of higher status. Due to any kind of circumstance, if a shadowkin somehow ends up losing her zrya, she is casteless and either exiled to the wastes or sent to live in the district outside the city walls that receives no aid from those within. When a shadowkin is born, she is immediately taken to be cared for by those of her caste, and if a mother hides her child or refuses to give her up, she is harrowed (her zrya are removed and she is declared casteless) and exiled. * Ralzani (the Ralzanen) - the ralzani caste is the highest achievable status within the Commune. Not many shadowkin are born with one or fewer zrya and so they are immediately determined to be of ralzani caste, taken to the palace to be raised in etiquette and luxury. The Ralzanen rules all of Serath from the Alkazaar, making political and strategic decisions for the Commune. Among them is the Ralzana, the eldest of the house. Her council is the other ralzani, referred to as Zana, but only she has the authority to make declarations or decisions. There have been cases of shadowkin cutting out their babies’ zrya in order to get them into the ralzani house, but the scars are often times too visible to be unnoticed. This results in harrowed mother and child. * Sydra (the Sydranēn) - this caste is the second highest, although many prefer it to the stressful burdens of being ralzana. The sydra are the childbearers of the Drakkir, and often travel to the mainland as part of a sydraan to find mates. More often than not, the sydra return to Serath with child and nothing more, but occasionally one will bring with her a mate who wishes to raise his child with her. This is only permitted under very strict guidelines, including complete fidelity and only escorted leave to the mainland with a sydraan. He must also devote his share to the Commune, in which instance the Ralzana declares his role. Usually the role is not one of tremendous toil, for his main duties are to his mate and daughter. Those with three zrya are of the sydra caste. * Famra (the Famranēn) - the political caste below ralzani, these Drakkir handle affairs with the mainland as well as within the city walls. Overseers are of this caste, their role determined directly by the ralzani. They live somewhat more comfortably than castes below them, but also handle a tremendous amount of responsibility. It is up to the famra to secure trades from the mainland and handle tactical negotiations where it is not crucial for the Ralzana to be present. This caste presents with four zrya. * Kaathiri (the Kaathirinēn) - the warriors and guards of the Drakkir, these shadowkin are trained early in the arts of battle. Kaathir caste encompasses all roles that involve magical rituals of war, including hunting and espionage. It also includes more useful roles as well, such as healers and diviners. Overseers will determine roles based on physical or magical prowess. These shadowkin have five zrya. * Myzra (the Myzranēn) - the largest caste of Drakkir, this status covers most miscellaneous roles within the Commune. Myzra are cleaners, crafters, courtiers, cooks, and more. Their daily tasks are determined by the overseer who governs each respective domain, although many are simply assigned tasks that they end up performing for most of their lives. While myzra are well-fed and generally content, they do not receive the lavish luxuries of the castes within the Alkazar. To ensure equality, homes are all small and similar, and no personal items are allowed. Many who work as a myzra are not even aware of the lives lived by ralzani and sydra, which is not entirely unintentional. The Ralzanen has instilled a belief that due to their status they are more suited for such amenities. These are the shadowkin with at least six zrya. * Kriiva (the Kriivanēn) - the least desirable caste of the Commune, these unlucky souls have the misfortune (of course, it as seen as glorious fortune to the Drakkir) of being sacrificial hosts of death magic. However, because this is seen as a most holy and sacred of rites, the kriiva live almost more comfortably than the ralzani. There are very few of them, for such a large number of zrya is incredibly unlikely. Still, many mothers do not wish to see their children slaughtered, and so attempt to remove some zrya in order to prevent such a fate. Diviners of this very class however are usually able to tell when a scar is showing, since most shadowkin scar darkly, and these shadowkin are simply covered in zrya. Religion Given their devotion to Aesis, God of Death, everything about the religion of the Drakkir revolves around equality, and the perfect state of Equilibrium. Only when all things have reached Equilibrium will the world reach its true and secure form; all will flourish, no one will go hungry, there will be no need to kill other beings to survive. It is a Drakkiri belief that when one dies, they achieve a spiritual equilibrium, and their souls are for Aesis to with what he will. As it currently stands, the Drakkir believe their world is in a terrible lack of balance. This is the reason for the curse upon their people, only bearing female offspring, and also the reason for the wasteland’s lifeless state. The whole region of Serath was once lush and vibrant, but it was only when the Equilibrium was shattered that the Drakkir were thrown into horrible misalignment. It is their solemn penance to constantly appease the God of Equality and pray to reach Equilibrium once more. There are four total gods of the Drakkiri pantheon: * Aesis - God of Death and Equality. Through death all things are made equal. This is why the enormous beasts of cycles past now lay in bones across the wasteland; it is a permanent reminder to the shadowkin that no matter how mighty, powerful, or strong, they will all be reduced to dust in the end. Aesis is often depicted as a man with the head of a serpent, and is all black and covered in scales. His six eyes are hollow, and a bright jewel of red is embedded in his forehead. * Tama - Goddess of Life and Change. It is Tama who, in Drakkiri legend, has done Aesis’ bidding. Where he is the Ralzan, Tama is the famra or kaathir. She alone turned the beasts of old to dust, charred their bones and laid Serath to waste. Because of this, the Drakkir pray to her to be merciful and to bring Equilibrium back to the land. Tama is also displayed as a fey with a serpent’s head, but she is pure white. The jewel set in her forehead is green. * Farseth & Rokka - Twin Gods of the Moons. Farseth is more or less only the name of the first moon, brother of the twin moons, and Rokka is the second. But there are Drakkiri myths that speak of them as hound-like characters who often play tricks on each other. They are minor gods of the pantheon, but their names are invoked in many curses and colloquial phrases. The sun does not have its own deity or name attached to it, for it is often shielded behind a blanket of dust clouds. The wind constantly shifting the landscape, the sun very rarely shines through. This results in pale or pigment-less skin color in the shadowkin, and makes it a very intolerable environment for mainlanders to stay in. It also means the Drakkir feel they owe nothing to the sun, and thus do not worship it in any way. While there is no specification of it within the caste, the kriiva tend to take up the role of religious leader in the Commune. They are present and often run sacred rituals and ceremonies. Their presence is often seen as sacred in and of itself. Diviners will use blood to see the future or make impossible predictions. And of course, as known to the caste, they will sacrifice themselves before battle in order to guarantee victory. Culture Due to the caste system in place, there is very little to observe when it comes to culture and lifestyle of the Drakkir. The myzra and kaathiri citizens, being the most populous, live in identical stone abodes in compact rows within the city walls, although some kaathir choose to reside within the sentry tower fortress by the maw. The other castes all live within the Alkazar, a large tower-like structure situated at the center of the city. It is large enough to house the entire Oasis and is much like its very own miniature city. Within its walls lies a much more dignified lifestyle, with places to sit and eat and enjoy music. There is not much of a Drakkiri cuisine, since nearly all of their food is imported from the mainland. But those of higher castes will create music from an instrument known as a thēruk. They are like flutes but with many different branches, allowing one instrument to yield multiple separate melodies. The music tends to be mellow and enchanting, and diviners will often times use it in their magical ceremonies. It is known by mainlanders to be a typical way for Drakkiri women to "enchant" men into mating with them and sometimes following them into the treacherous wasteland. It is for this reason that they are harshly referred to by mainlanders as sirens, and as thieves due to their lack of currency (resulting in them taking things that do not belong to them, unaware that it was in fact stealing). Politics Outside of Serath, the Drakkir have a complicated status. By most Imperian folk, they are looked down upon. In fact, many Imperians look upon them as if they were nearly human, since they lack many of the stark features of other fey. They also are not Cyclican by nature, although their pantheon seems rather similar. It is also of note that they are all women and so have a lower social status automatically, particularly to those within Imperia. It is believed by many that they chose to live in isolation out of self-pity and fear. The one caveat to this political circumstance is the incredibly fierce army controlled by the Ralzana. Not only that, but they are located in such a strategic environment that conquering them is nearly impossible. Having the Drakkir as an ally is a general hope of Emperor Izaqeth, but the harsh treatment of the Sydranēn when they visit makes this quite a challenge.